The Native American Patient
by Jester Fraser
Summary: It's a busy busy day at the Presidio.So busy in fact that Dr.Nick Kokoris gets a patient that he usually wouldn't have.What would usually be just any other patient is turned around when her mother dies,and her father's an abusive man.Nick must help her.
1. The patient

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The Native American Patient

Jester: GO easy on me! This be my first Presidio Med fic. And I'm a little rusty on the show, haven't seen it for the past two weeks! Don't kill me! I don't know all the characters yet!

Disclaimer: I dun own Presidio Med the best Medical show I have seen aside from Mds.

--begin chapter--

Today the Presidio was very busy. The flu was going around, and so was the common cold. There were a lot of patients. Dr. Nick Kokoris walked in the Presidio to met by Jackie immediately. She handed him a file. "The Presidio is packed today, Nick," She began as Nick opened the file and read it. "You get to have a real patient who you don't have to perform surgery on!"

"Really?" Nick said in his nice dreamy Arabic accent that had a dash of English-ness in it! Er…sorry on with the story. "Well, it probably won't be to bad. Most likely just the cold."

"Whatever you say, Nick," Jackie said walking off down a different hall. Nick looked at her quizzically.

"What do you mean? Do you know something I don't?" He asked. She shook her head and walked on. Nick just had that little cute confused look on his face but replaced it with a blank look (no blank as in air head-ish but just no emotion y'know?) and walked down the hall to his patients exam room. He opened the door to the little exam room where an old kind of fat, but not very fat, just a little over weight woman sat with black hair that had some white in it showing she was in her fifties and semi-dark skin and no wrinkle, well not a lot anyway. And on the bed sat a four-teen year old girl with brown hair and lighter skin though she looked Arabic. "Ah, hello."

"Hello," the woman said getting up and shaking his hand and smiled. "I'm Alice."

"Hey," the girl said a bit bored and distant. 

Frank opened the file, "I take it you're Tara?"

"Yeah," Tara said. 

"Tara," Alice scolded. "Be a little nicer."

"Right," Tara said.

"It's okay Mrs. Froze. I've dealt with far worse. Your granddaughter doesn't offend me," Nick said.

"Yeah, but you just offended my mum I'm sure!" Tara snapped. "Y'don't say that I'm her granddaughter with out even checking! Yeesh! I don't want my mum to feel like she's old! Which y'aren't Mum."

"It's okay, Tara," Her mother said. Nick was a little taken a back but quickly recovered.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again," Nick apologized.

"I hope not," Tara said. Her mother gave her a look that all mothers posses. "I'm sorry I just shouted like that. I'm a bit tired, that's all."

"Tired?" Nick said. "Tell me, are you in PE?"

"Yes," Tara said as Nick examined her. Checking her breathing, pulse, ears and throat.

"Are you usually exhausted when in PE?" He asked.

"No, I like to be in the game."

"Ah, but have you been lately?"

"Yeah. Today I actually sat down. I'm sure that gave me a 4 in my attitude grade."

"I see, and does you ears or throat hurt any?"

"My throat is a bit scratchy."

"Yeah," her mother said. "Her throat does that a lot and we bring her in, get a throat culture and it always comes out negative."

"I see," Nick said, writing something down. "Well, I'm going to have you get checked for mono and strep throat."

"Alright," Tara said. 

"Alright I'll show you to the lab. Then after that someone will show back up here. Just wait for me," Nick said getting up. Alice and Tara got up, Alice was about 5'7" and Tara was 5'8". They walked down to the lab. "Just wait here."

They nodded and sat down and waited. There were about ten other people ahead of them. They waited for ten minutes then the nurse called for Tara. Tara got up and went in. The nurse sat her down in a chair and got a needle ready. She then tied a rubber strip on her shoulder and felt around for a good vein. She found it then got her needle, Tara looked away, and inserted in the vein. She drew some blood and then took the throat culture. "Okay, that's it," the nurse said putting a band-aid on Tara's arm where the needle was inserted.

"Cool," Tara said then got up and walked out to her mother, who was standing next to another nurse who took them back to the exam room. They got in the exam room. The nurse said before closing the door, "The doctor will be in shortly."

They waited for ten minutes when finally Nick walked in. He place the results of the tests on the desk, "My, you're not suppose to be both positive. No."

"What?" Tara said.

"You are positive for both Mono and strep throat," Nick said sitting in the swivel chair. "We need to get rid of one of the two. The only one we can get rid of immediately or at most with in 24 hours is the strep. You have a choice here, you can get rid of the strep in 24 hours by getting a shot, or you can decide to take the long way and use a pill."

"Well, where's the shot going to be?" Tara asked.

"On you bottom, more kind of lower back," Nick said, stifling a smile as Tara's eye widened a bit.

"Er, I'll take the pill," Tara said.

"No, Tara. Get rid of the strep faster!" Her mother said. "We'll take the shot."

"Mum!" Tara pleaded. "But-but, I don't want to look like John did when he was four!"

"Well, you don't have to drag your leg about, just deal with it!" Alice said, laughing a bit at the fond memory of when her oldest son got a shot on the rump. 

"Okay, we'll give you a shot. She'll be here in a moment. I have to go and see how many weeks you get out of PE. I'll be back later," Nick said then left the room. He walked down the hall to the lab and got the info he needed quicker than he thought so he went down to the cafeteria. He sat down with another doctors he knew, Dr. Matt. 

"Hey, Nick, I hear you got a different kind of patient than usual," Matt said. Nick nodded.

"Yeah," Nick said. 

"So how is the patient different?" 

"She doesn't need surgery."

"Yeah? That must be a big difference for you."

"A little. I got to go now."

"See ya."

"See ya," Nick said walking back up to his patient's exam room. He opened the door and walked in. Tara was standing up glaring at her mother with a hand on her lower back. Nick stifle a smile. "Well, you get out of PE for four weeks."

Tara's eyes went wide, "Four?! That's too long! I'll get lazy by then! I can't be out for four weeks?!"

Nick laughed a little, "Hehe, I think you're the only person I ever met that actually likes PE."

"Yeah I like it! What about my soccer?!"

"You're out of that too."

"WHAT?! It'll be the end of the season! Semi-finals are tomorrow!" Tara said.

"I'm sorry, it's going to take a while for this mono to go away. Have you ever had it before?"

"No."

"Well, then there's a chance you can get later on in life," Nick said. "But look on the bright side, after the second time you have mono, you can't get it again."

"Yeah, but by then I'll be lazy," Tara said sitting down then getting up from the pain. "Ow."

Nick stifled a laugh, "Well, we're just pulling you out of PE so you don't get over exhausted and because we don't want your spleen to burst."

"My spleen?"

"Yes, you're spleen. An internal organ about this big," Nick said said putting his finger tips together making an oval type shape and showed it on his left side of his abdomen, "that lives about here."

"What about it breaking?"

"Oh, it gets inflated when you have mono. So you have to be careful on what you lift, and make sure no one slams into you or anything. If a lot of pressure is put onto it suddenly, it will burst."

"Oh, great," Tara said her voice full of sarcasm. "I get an inflated spleen!"

"Well, that's all for now," Nick said. "But just to let you know. If you did by chance make you spleen burst, you won't know. Usually people don't know until it's too late. Usually when your spleen burst you'll feel dizzy and light headed because it's bleeding internally."

"Too late?" Tara asked. 

"Yes, when the spleen bursts, it bleeds internally and you can die from the internal bleeding."

"Er, that's not good! What if I'm choking? And someone needs to do the Heimlich?"

"Well, they should, then tell them that you have an inflated spleen and come to the hospital, we'll check and remove the spleen before you die of internal bleeding."

"That's a relief!"

"I'm glad you asked or else you might not have known! Well, see ya," Nick said then left. Then Tara and her mum left.

~~Two days later~~

Nick was walking in a less busy day at the Presidio than it was two days ago. Then he heard the sound of ambulances coming up. "Better head to the ER in case they need a surgeon," Nick said to himself and walked to the ER quickly, then a nurse in scrubs ran to him.

"Dr. Kokoris! We need you in the Emergency Room now!" she said. Nick followed her running down the hall. They went into another hall where they were pulling down a limp form on the stretcher. Kokoris looked at the form and recognized it as …Alice, Tara's mother!

--End Chapter--

Jester: I hope you liked it! PlZ review! Remember it's my first Presidio Med fic!

Jester


	2. The failed Surgery, and the small Funera...

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The Native American Patient

Tara sat in the waiting room chewing her nails, a habit she has when she's nervous. A half hour ago she received a call from the hospital while she was at her friends house. The voice was a machine, a machine! A damn machine voice that was all calm saying her mother was just in a car accident! How the hell do they have the balls to do that! But wait, they feared a scream or something, so they lacked the balls to tell her upfront, she thought. She ran next door to her friend's house and got a ride to the hospital. She tried to get in the surgery room but the nurses wouldn't let her in. So she and her friend, and her friend's mum waited in the waiting room. After another ten minutes of waiting the doctor came out…

~~~what happened to Nick~~~

Nick had taken a while to recognize the woman, she was so mauled up but then he recognized her as Alice, Tara's mother. He ran alongside the stretcher telling a nurse to call her home. Upon arriving in the surgery room he went straight to work after putting on the proper accoutrements. He went to work. Her face was mauled but it was nothing compared to her stomach. So he decided to work on the stomach first. As he picked away pieces of clothing from inside the abdomen he saw to his horror pieces of spleen. She had mono too! _Shit!_ Nick thought to himself. What was he going to do? There was only one thing he could, take out the spleen pieces, close wound to the internal bleeding, fix things up in the abdomen, close the wound and fix her face. But it was easier thought than done. 

He started with picking out the pieces of spleen, as much as he could. Then he sewed up the vein. But then he heard that thing that measures your heart rate stop in a long and continuous beep. Nick worked harder on the blood vessel, but the heart rate didn't go back. He heard Alice's daughter yelling from outside. She wanted to get in and see her mother. He couldn't stand it. Then the heart rate came back. Nick went straight to work. He finally closed the abdomen. And started on the head.

He looked around at the mauled head. He didn't know where to begin. He decided he should start with the back of the head, carefully he closed wound and patched on skin. Then he got to the top of the head where a hole chunk of skull was gone! He could see the bloodied brain with hair strands on it. Then the heart rate stopped. He wanted to keep going, to save this woman's life. But it was no use. She was gone. Gone from this hell and onto heaven. 

A nurse walked to the door, "I'll go tell her daughter ther bad news."

"No," Nick said. "I'll tell her."

"Okay," the nurse said. "I'll just go get the file."

"Alright," Nick said. He leaned against the wall. He was usually successful. He couldn't believe he failed this. He waited for ten minutes then finally went into the waiting room…

Tara rushed to Nick as he came out. He had a grave look, and she could tell this was not going to be good news.

"I-I'm sorry," nick said. "We were nearly finished with the surgery when she died."

Tara sobbed a little, obviously trying not to cry. Nick didn't know what to say to her. HE didn't know how ot comfort her in this her greatest hour of need for friendship. So her friend came up, a worried look on her face, "Tara, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry."

Tara nodded. "I know, Becca. I know. I can't believe, my mother, my own mum who was so strong and brave who raised her own siblings and their children and my dad's children is dead! It's not possible."

Becca hugged her best friend. "Ssh, shh. I know how it feels, Tara. It's okay. You're wound will heal."

"Only to be replaced by flesh wounds from my father!" Tara sobbed. Becca's eyes went wide.

"Oh, my gosh, Tara I forgot about him. I'm so sorry," Becca said. Tara cried on her shoulder. 

"why is it bad to be with her father?" Nick asked. Becca looked up at him.

"He's a bit abusive. But it's not your business," Becca snapped. Then Dr. Harriet Lanning, who was standing near by listening, walked over to Nick and pulled him aside. 

"Nick, you don't ask personal question like that to your patients," she said. "We are only concerned for their medical health, not their own personal life."

"But it is a health question," Nick said. "That girl has mono, her father is abusive he could possibly manage to burst her spleen! I don't want that to happen."

"It's still apart of their own life. We are doctors, we only make house calls if they call for it."

"Fine. But I don't want her to end up in a foster home, or with an abusive father. I had an abusive father, I don't want her to go through what I had to." Dr. Lanning shook her head.

"Stay away from her personal life. You could just screw it up," she said then left. Nick just snorted a little and walked back.

"I have to go now," he said and walked off.

"I can't believe he'd ask a question like that," Becca said. Then she turned to her friend who was slouching in a chair, near crying but trying to hold it back. "Why don't you stay with us tonight?"

Tara looked up at Becca, "Is it alright with your mum?"

"Of course it is, Tara," Becca's mum said. "I have no objection whatsoever."

Tara nodded and they got up and left. 

The funeral was the next week, it wasn't anything special. The church Tara went to, Oasis Family Church bought the plot of land and did the funeral out of their hearts. They knew Tara and her mother well, and felt sorry for her. An unexpected guest was there, Nick Kokoris. He was in the back of the congregation. As everyone left after the casket was put into the grave he remained, watching Tara as she stood by the grave. Tara stood by the grave, looking at the simple gravestone that read:

"Alice Emily Froze

Born February 18, 1950 Died November 24, 2002.

Loving Mother, and great woman."

Tara crouched near the gravestone and traced the letters "Alice Emily Froze" and "Loving Mother." Tears would have welled up in her eyes had she not shed them all the day of the accident. Wenesday, November 24 was when her mother died. Thursday November 25, Thanksgiving Day she was alone in her house, silent and laying on the couch. The couch her mother let her sleep on throughout the week because she didn't like sleeping upstairs. She heard footsteps behind her, she knew who it was. "You know, we were suppose to have a big dinner Thanksgiving. We would have all our friends, and family go to the park down the street. Our church would be their too. It was going to be a great Thanksgiving Day, one we would all remember. Everyone was able to come, not one person would be missing. But instead, two were. Mum and me. Then we were going to move my bed down into the computer room, because I always slept down stairs. The weekend was going to be fun. Our family would be with us, my cousins Dino and Brian would be there. We would be going to the park and the school to go cat-hunting. But now I'm going away. To my damned abusive drunk father." Tara punched the ground. "The ass, he has fifteen woman crawling over him a week because he has all this money. He's a local wrestler. He wants to go pro soon. He's also a lawyer. I'm amazed how a lawyer could be so uncivilized. He's a bastard. He had ten affairs on my mum in a week! So she divorced him, and got to keep me. I'm glad for that, but not this. They say your sense of security comes from your father. But when I was with mum, I felt like nothing to hurt me. My mum was a strong Christian, and a strong woman. She had been through a lot. Life in poverty on the reZ, taking care of her sixteen younger brothers and sisters. Getting an education during that. Got shot in the leg and held at gun point from one of her younger sisters drunk husbands. She had been through a lot. I have a lot of respect for her, because she went through all that and still she raised me, and had a lot of patience, and made my life better up to this point than she had ever had as a child."

"Tara, I'm sorry about your mother," Nick said. "And I'm sorry that she had to go through so much."

"Hm, thanks. I'm sorry she died too. But at least she's with God. Though I doubt I will be," Tara said, getting up. 

"Tara, I want to help you."

"I don't need anyone's help. You're a doctor, Doc. You're suppose to just be a doctor, see what's wrong, prescribe a medicine and then go on to the next patient. I heard what that other doctor said to you. She's right, you're not suppose to be mixed in with the personal life of your patients. So follow her advice. I could see she's had more experience than you," Tara said then left. Nick watched as she left, he felt so sorry for her. He had to help. 

~~~A week later~~~

Dr. Nick smiled to himself as he entered the locker room, another successful surgery. Then he frowned as he remembered what had happened three weeks ago, he still wasn't completely over that tragedy. Well, it wasn't that long of a day today, and now he was going home to watch TV and do some more studying on law, and child abuse laws etc. He got dressed in some casual clothes consisting of jeans, sneakers, and a black sweater over a USA shirt. He walked out of the locker room when two men dressed in suits came towards him. They showed him their badges, they were the police!

"Dr. Nicholas Kokoris?"

"Yes?"

"We understand that you were one of the last people to see Tara Froze a week ago. We would like to speak with you."

~~~End chapter~~~

Okay, I know it was shorter than the first chapter, but hey, I couldn't think up of much for this chapter, but longer chapters later. Don't expect fast updates, I want this to be a **real** drama story. How am I doing so far?

Jester


	3. Worries and Runaway

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The Native American Patient

Nick and the Police walked into an office to talk. Nick sat down at the desk as the police sat down in the chairs opposite of him. Nick asked, "What happened?"

"We'll ask the questions here, Doc," One of the police said. "Now, you were one of the last people to see Tara Froze. Do you know where that was?"

"In the graveyard, after her mother was buried," Nick said. Still not sure what was going on. 

"Well, did she tell you where she was going? Or give any hint at all?" The other police officer asked. Nick shook his head.

"No, all she said before that, that she would not go with her father. Then at the graveyard she said that her mother is with God, though she doubted that she would be."

The police officers glanced at each other. Then one said, "Is it true that you were the last doctor she saw?"

"Yes."

"M-hmm, and what was she seeing you for?"

"She had been exhausted from her mother said. So I ran a blood test on her, she has mono. I fear her spleen may be inflated, we gave her four weeks off, though the spleen may stay inflated longer than that."

"mm-hmm, and what else?"

"Nothing else, officer. Two days later I walked in, and her mother came pass me on a stretcher down in the ER so I performed surgery. Then I told Tara the news of her mother's death."

"What did she say? How did she react?"

"She took it very hard. It seemed that she and her mother were very close. She said her father was abusive. And she went home with her friend."

"Well, thank you for your help, Doctor," The police said and got ready to go. When Nick stopped them.

"What's happened to her? Is she missing? Is she dead?" Nick asked, worriedly.

"Uuh, Doctor, it doesn't really concern you. You're just the doctor.." the police man said.

"Stop it! I don't care that I'm just 'the doctor'! I'm worried about her! She has mono, and inflated spleen if it burst she could die from internal bleeding if she doesn't get professional medical care!" Nick said loudly and suddenly. The police were taken back a little, but quickly regained their composure.

"Listen, Doc, it's not really your business," the other police man said. "And you really shouldn't be involved in her personal life, some may think it wrong, and rape…"

"RAPE?! I didn't say I was having sexual relationships with her! I just want to know if she's okay! I'm her doctor! I have a right to know. This child has a medical problem and it's my responsibility to make sure it doesn't progress. If she doesn't break her spleen her mono may cause her to get too exhausted!"

"Doc, listen, we don't usually do this but we'll make an exception for you. We'll let you get the 411 when we have it. But now, all we know is that she is missing. We know it's not because she was kidnapped or something like that. But we think she has ran away."

"Well, where was she staying?"

"At a friends house. They said that she went up stairs after school and by dinnertime she hadn't come out so they went to check on her, and she was gone. We'll give you updates as soon as possible but until then you just go back to taking care of the sick people." Then the officers left. Nick walked out to his car thinking about the details he had just been given. He got in his car and drove to his apartment.

~~Later~~

Nick sat in front of the TV watching 'Without a Trace' and eating take out from Egg Roll King. The room was dark except the dull bluish light from the TV. He was nodding off into sleep when the phone rang. He leaned across his couch and reached the phone, picking up the reciever putting it to his ear he said groggily, "Mm, hello?"

**Oi, hey Doc.**

"Who is this?"

**Tara**

Nick woke up right there. Surprised he said, "Tara?! Why are you calling me?"

**No one else to call. Besides, I think you're the only one who won't tell the police I called you.**

"Oh. How've you been? Have you taken any falls?"

**No. I've been alright. I'm a survivor, guess I get it from Mum.**

"Hey, what about that whole, I'm just a doctor don't get involved in your personal life thing?"

**What you do want me to call? I'll just hang up and keep heading to the reZ if you want**

"No, no it's okay. But why are you headed to the 'reZ'?"

**Because that's where my family is.**

"But if you go in court wouldn't you go into their custody?"

**No, the court says that their living conditions aren't good enough. That they should just take care of their own children and they don't need another child to burden them.**

"Oh, so why are you going there?"

**To be where my real family is.**

"Tara, you should live with your friends though."

**I don't want to. They live on a budget, a very tight budget. I don't want to live in a foster home. I want to be with family. Uncle George makes good money, he has only one son, and I think he'll do good to live with.**

"But-"

**Oh, I have to go. The bus is here. Bye, Doc!!**

"Tara no! Wait!" Nick said no, I lie, Nick yelled but she had hung up already. Nick cursed silently then hung up. He thought a moment then picked up the phone again, then hung up. He was going to call the police, but then he remembered what Tara said. She though that he wouldn't. So he wouldn't. But luckily, he had caller Id. He checked out where the call came from then grabbed his jacket, his keys, put on some shoes and ran out the door to the parking lot.

~~~At the Bus station~~~

There was a lot of people getting off the bus, as Tara stood in the line. Then she saw where the bus went, Albuquerque, New Mexico. She didn't want to go there. So she left the line and sat down in a chair. She looked around the big building. People waiting for buses, carrying bags, wearing caps, waving themselves with paper brochures from the heat that the heater caused. She fought of sleep as she waited. After twenty minutes she fell asleep, holding her bag close to her and taking up to chairs from lying down. 

~~~Ten minutes later~~~

Nick ran into the bus station, thinking he was too late as he saw many bus leave. He ran inside looking around. He spotted Tara asleep on two chairs near a window. He walked over and picked her up. She didn't wake up. Hard sleeper, he guessed. Then he picked up her bag and walked out of the station. 

He put Tara in the back seat and put her bag under her head to serve as a pillow. Then he got in the car and drove back to the apartment.

Upon arriving at the apartment Nick got out and carried Tara and her bag up to his flat. He set her on the couch and put her head on a real pillow and put a blanket over her. Then he turned off the TV and went to his own room and slept.

~~~End Chapter~~~ 


	4. Talks of past and plans for safety

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The Native American Patient

---Begin Chapter---

Tara woke only an hour before sun up. She sat up on the couch and looked around, where was she? She got up, still wearing yesterdays clothes, she saw on a little coffee table were pictures of that doctor she saw. She looked at it a while then walked into the kitchen. A small but cozy kitchen. She heard a door open from behind her and a man stepped out of a room, it was that doctor! He was fully dressed in a shirt and jeans with socks (his shoes lay near the door).

"Oh, so you're awake?" He said passing her to get his precious coffee ready.

"Barely, just got up," she mumble back. Nick nodded.

"You feel exhausted?" He asked taking a sip of his hot coffee.

Tara just yawned and nodded. Then she said, "What am I doing here?"

"Well, I didn't want you running away, not while you have mono. You're spleen could burst, you could collapse of exhaustion etc.," Nick said sitting at his kitchen table. Tara sighed exasperatedly and sat down opposite of him.

"I don't need you butting into my life."

"You were the one who called, you were the one who told me where you were. If you didn't want help then you wouldn't've called or gave out where you were."

"I just needed someone to talk to, and I didn't think you'd make a big deal out of things! Listen, I can do just fine on my own with or without your help. Let me go where I want."

"Where do you want to go?"

"Home!"

"Home huh? Isn't that a few streets down?"

"No, that's a house, my home is where my family is!"

"You can't go there, you know what the judge said. You can't live there because your family isn't financially fit to have you. The only family that can take you is your father."

"I don't want to live with him, Doc! He's a bastard, he is a womanizer and I hate him!"

"Then you can live with me."

"No! If I do Rice'll find out and he'll sue you for kidnapping, I have to leave."

"Rice?"

"That's the name of my 'father'," Tara said with disgust.

"Why would he sue? If he did then that shows he cares for you, does it not?"

"You don't get it, he's a local wrestler, he's a lawyer and he's greedy beyond belief! He'll do anything to get more money and he knows doctors have loads of money," Tara said with disgust. "He'll do anything, he's a criminal but his influence with strength and money keeps the law away from him. He's a drug lord too, and he has his own street gang and another gang that's like a throw back to the 1930's gang."

"Why don't you turn him in?"

"I already told you! Or do you not listen?? His money and strength keep the law off of him, also because he's a very powerful lawyer."

"You mean your father is Heath Rice?"

"Heath the Death."

"Oh my god!"

"I know, it's a hard life being his daughter. My mother married him before he became famous and evil, he use to have a heart and was nice. Then after I was born he left my mother, he was afraid to be a father, he hit my mother for getting pregnant. If I had just one chance to kill him, and make him pay for he's done to my mother, I'd take it, and I'd make his death the most cruel in history. It'd make him scream for _his _mother, it'd humiliate him in front of all his fans and gang members," Tara clenched her fists, speaking through gritted teeth. She looked at the table, trying to keep back her anger.

"Tara…just stay here for a while. Your father, I mean Rice won't find out. You have sanctuary here."

"No-I have to go. You just go on with your little nice life of helping people. I don't need you to butt in!" Tara said, then got up and grabbed her bag and walked towards the door but nick blocked her. "Out of my way!"

"No! Tara, you have to have some place to stay. With your mono, you could die, you have a really bad case, Tara. Your spleen is inflated, it's going to stay that way for a while, a while longer than the estimated four weeks, maybe two more weeks after this."

"Listen! I don't care if my spleen bursts, or I collapse of exhaustion! It doesn't matter to me, as long as I am away from Rice!" Tara threw a punch at Nick's face but Nick dodged it easily and grabbed her fist. He wasn't going to be nice now, he felt he had to help her.

"TARA! Stop! I don't care if your father was Satan, I'll keep you here to keep you safe. You can attend a different school, and you can even change your name. I just don't want you to die, I have failed at keeping your mother alive, I won't fail keeping you alive," Nick said, his voice hard, yet soft. "I think your mother would want you to stay with me so you could stay alive."

"Don't talk to me about my mother! What makes you think you know what she would have wanted?" Tara near shouted tears welling up in her eyes. "You didn't know her, not even a bit!" Tara sobbed. "You don't know me, I want to leave! I have to leave!"

"No, Tara, listen! I want you to stay, I want you to live, I want you to be able to do what you want without fearing that Rice will come up one day and hurt you."

"I have no fear of Rice, the fear I had of him was that he would kill my mother, and he did!"

"What?"

"Did you know that he knew my mother had mono? Did you know that the viper that crashed head on into my mum's car was his viper? He sent someone to kill her! He hated my mother after I was born, and he never liked how she was so religious, it freaked him out. He hated her so much he had already done twelve attempts to kill her. I wouldn't suspect that you knew. My mum was a very private person, not letting any slip into media. I hate Rice, he can die all I care, he can stand before God and deal with the fact that he has to go to Hell for killing my mum!" Tara's fist unclenched as she cried, letting Nick hold her for comfort. "He succeeded, he probably wants to come after me. I fear he'll kill you, and my friends. The only people he fears is my whole family. That's why I wanted to go to my family, so I can be safe without fearing that he'd kill them too."

"I-oh, Tara, I'm sorry," Nick said, totally taken aback by her story. Nick didn't know what to do, if she stayed with him, he'd be in danger- "but not if he doesn't find us."

"What?"

"He can't kill us if he doesn't find us. Does he know that you have mono?"

"Probably, he knows a lot. He knows where the CIA satellites are in the sky. He has many connections, he even knows the leaders of the Tri-ads, and has a deal of trade with them." 

"Amazing, well, if we just stay low, I think we'll be fine," Nick said. "I have to go to work. Do you want to come?"

"Sure, fine I have nothing else to do." So they went outside to his car and drove off to work.

~~At Nick's work~~

It wasn't as crowded to-day as it was yesterday, people were mainly in for allergies and minor injuries, practically no need for surgeons, leaving time for Nick to show Tara around and introduce her to everyone. He even introduced her to Doctor Harriet Lanning. She pulled him aside as Tara spoke to some other patients.

"Nick, what do you think you are doing?!" Harriet nearly yelled. "You can be charged for kidnapping! She has a father, she has to be with her father. The judge ruled it, and I know, because I was there, in the back."

"Harriet, she's staying with me, she chose to stay with me," Nick said. Harriet shook her head.

"It doesn't matter, you have to send her to her father! If you don't you can be charged if you are found, I'm sure her father is already worrying."

"I doubt it, she's told me that her father is abusive. And he is, I am sure of it, and I will not let her go to someone who will just abuse her. With an inflated spleen one wrong powerful blow to her abdomen and it can burst, and there is no way for her to know until it is too late," Nick said, his intense eyes staring at Harriet. "I am not looking for your permission, not even for your blessing, but just a promise that you won't tell anyone about this. I want to keep her safe, and if safe is with me so be it."

Harriet couldn't argue so she just nodded and walked away. Nick then continued the tour of the hospital for Tara. 

"You said I could change my name," Tara said. Nick nodded.

"Well, not legally, but I can call you by something different and have everyone else do the same," Nick said. Tara smiled.

"I want to be called Tara Melody PrettyWeasel," Tara said. "Instead of my middle and last name Lexi Froze and I want it to be Melody Pretty Weasel. Pretty Weasel was the name of my grandfather on my mum's side. He was a kind man, and my favorite grandpa. He's dead now, but I'd like to keep his name and memory alive and honored."

Nick nodded, "Then so be it."

~~End Chapter~~

Hey! I know I haven't updated in months, but I am busy, VERY busy…writing other fanfics, making two chat sites that are graphical meaning I am using animal avatars, and also having to read other stories of my friends that they just did and I've lost track of other stories!! Eek! The pressure is mounting!! And a third site is pending!

Jester


	5. Done and apologies

The vile wretched things I have done! I speak bitterness of my "friends" and expect hardy welcome each time I see them! I realize my own hypocrisy! My own stupidity! For I have become the worst friend one can possibly have! I've become just like the "friends" who abandoned my uncle! I've become one who abandons them! I've left their back open and don't even have the guts to tell them until one other finds out! May they be joyous, for I am leaving their town, and highly doubt I'll return! I've told the one who Pmed (on Wolfhome) me to do all they could to erase me from their mind! 

All I've done! I've jump into to much conclusions, and have been narrow minded! I thought I'd always try to be the best friend I could, defend them, protect them, kill those that hurt them! But lo! I've done the hurt, I've done the attack, I've done the worst! Talked behind their back! Have no pity for me! I am not the victim, they are! Have your pity to them, have your comfort reserved for them, have your friendship saved for them, and not me. I've done bad, and I suffer for it.   


For now, she is in the right, I exile myself from posting on fan fiction.net henceforth. I will drop by every now and then to see what's going on. You can catch me on Wolfhome.com as Tragic_ookami (unless she were to say that she likes it there then I will be gone from there henceforth so she has no reminder of the "friend" who spoke badly of she and her friends) and on Yahoo Instant Messenger (YIM) as TragicJesterFraserOokami. 

If I could turn back the clock and right what I've wrong, I would, but that is not done, for what is done is done, and there is no way to change it. I offer my apology to all and to her, and I don't expect you to take it, for I take not even my own, I don't forgive myself.   


Hello, good bye,   
  
You all rock, don't ever change.   


Jester Fraser

"Loose one friend, loose all friends, loose yourself"-Eric Matthews in Boy Meets World.

  



End file.
